There is a technique to killing flies.

I went on this midwest road trip extravaganza with my parents, and compared to my travels around Europe (staying in cheap hostels, on a tight budget), it was like an all-expenses-paid luxury vacation.

View Midwest Road Trip Extravaganza in a larger map

The trip started in Austin, through Oklahoma (with dinner in Muskogee) and we stopped for the night in Joplin. Day two went through Columbia where I dropped off my car and continued on to Champaign, Illinois. On day three we drove the short distance to Lafayette, Indiana to visit my uncle and aunt. Day four brought us to Cincinnati, Ohio, to visit my grandpa. Day five was the end of the trip and we drove through Kentucky back to Columbia, Missouri, completing the midwest loop circle and bringing me back to school.

Anyway, there was a fly in the hotel we stayed at in Champaign, Illinois. No one wants to sleep in a room that has a fly flying around in it, so we had no choice but to kill it. Flies are really hard to kill because they have such good reflexes and it's even harder when you don't have a fly swatter. But it is possible with this technique from my dad.


You have to flick the fly with your finger. You have to wait for the fly to land somewhere and sneak up on it really slowly so it doesn't fly away. You can't aim directly for the fly, because it'll sense your movement and fly away before you hit it. So, you have to aim for right in front of the fly or right behind the fly. That way, when it senses your movement and flies away, you will hit right where the fly is on its way away from you. You just have to become one with the fly and anticipate whether it will fly forward or backward.

Refer to the following diagram and live your life fly-free: